Dashplate compartment taximeter



April 6, 1943. H. w. WHITE DASHPLATE COMPARTMENT TAXIMET-ER 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 15, 1938 Henry J Gunman/1 4 April 6, 1943. H. w. WHITE 2,315,569

DASHPLATE COMPARTMENT TAXIMETER Filed Oct. 15, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 wrwmy April 6, 1943., w WHITE 2,315,569

DASHPLATE COMPARTMENT TAXIMETER Filed Oct. 15, 1938 v 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 W? 1 Q N Z45 I V a, t%'

HenkyW.W ite A ril 6,1943. I H. w. WHITE 2,315,569

DASHHJATE COMPAR'I'MENT TAXIMETER' Filed Oct. 15, 1938 s Sheets-Sheet 4 FT 7. 57 v 1 26,3

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DASHPLATE COMPARTMENT TAXIMETER Filed Oct. 15, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 y Mwhitcl wm- W306 Maw Aprii 6, 1943. w WHITE 2,315,569

DASHPLATE COMPARTMENT TAXIMETER Filed Oct. 15, 1938 6 Sheer.sSheet 6 \oyllollarsmucenrs I r p 311mm Henrywwhlta Patented Apr. 6, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DASHPLATE COMPARTMENT TAXIMETER Henry W. White, Houston, Tex.

Application October 15, 1938, Serial No. 235,226

Claims.

This invention relate to taxi meters for use on taxicabs employed in public service.

It is an object of the invention to provide a taxi meter of light and compact construction and formed to be inserted and housed within the usual glove compartment of the motor vehicle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a taxi meter of this character which when in position may be enclosed and sealed in such manner that it can not be tampered with.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a taxi meter which maybe adjusted to operate in response to the running of the vehicle or to the running of a clock or time control apparatus, or both of them, whenever the taxicab i in service.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an efficient mechanism for indicating the operation of the taxicab, said mechanism being housed and inaccessible. v

It is a further object of the invention to provide a construction which may be operated from the speedometer shaft and to so house the connection between said shaft and the indicating mechanism that it will also be inaccessible and tamper proof.

My invention lie largely in the general construction and arrangement of my improved apparatus and will be better understood from a description thereof taken with the drawings form-.

ing a part of this application.

The features of incorporating the meter in the glovebox and flush with the dash board of the car and other details originally disclosed are being claimed in a divisional application, Serial No. 471,862, filed Jan. 9, 1943.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the mechanism employed with my device, said apparatus being removed from the housing.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the device taken from one end thereof.

Fig. 3 is an elevation taken from the opposite end of said apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a section taken approximately on the plane 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a broken longitudinal section taken on the plane 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 6 and '7 are sectional views taken on the planes 6-6 and 'I-I, respectively, of Fig. 1, and looking in the direction of the respective arrows.

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail on the plane 8-3 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are longitudinal sections taken on the planes 9-9, Iii-I0 and III I, respectively, of Fig. 1. I

Figs. 12 and 13 are sectional views taken on the planes I2I2 and I3I3, respectively, of Fit 9.

Fig. 14 is a front elevation of the housing for the device showing the covers for the indicating dial indicators removed.

The housing for the meter box consists of flat plates which form a rectangular enclosure adapted to fit within the glove compartment of the car. This housing fits about a frame upon which the mechanical structure within the housing is supported.

The worm gear I3 is mounted upon a shaft 6 and is driven in any suitable manner by the vehicle upon which the taximeter is installed. This worm gear is adapted to operatively engage with a gear wheel I6. Said gear wheel I6 is mounted upon a shaft I1 rotatable within a bushing I8, which is supported upon the side plate of the housing '1. The said shaft projects beyond the gear I6 and has at its inner end a smaller gear I9 which is in turn adapted to engage with a gear 20 as best seen in Fig. 4.

Said gear 20 is mounted upon a shaft 2| supported on the end of a curved lever 22. Said lever 22 is pivoted upon the shaft I'I upon which the gear is rotatable and from Fig. 4 it will be seen that when the lever 22 is moved the gear 20 may be brought into or out of engagement with an adjacent gear 23. Due to the fact that the lever 22 is pivoted on the shaft H the gear 20 is constantly in mesh with gear I9, and when the gear is moved to the left of its position in Fig. 4 it will engage the gear 23. The spring 24 is attached to a pin 25 upon the lever 22 and at its other end is secured to a stationary pin 26 on the lever 21. This spring exerts a tension on the lever 22 tending to draw it into position with the gear 20 engaging with the gear 23.

The lever arm 21 is secured in fixed position upon a cam-operated shaft 28, said lever being curved forwardly at its upper end, and said end 29 bears against the lever 22 and tends to hold the spring 24 under tension and the gear 20 out of contact with the gear 23. The operation of the lever 21 in its sequence will be later described.

The gear 23 is mounted upon a shaft 35 transversely of the frame of the device. It is loose upon said shaft but is provided on it inner surface with a series of pawls 3|, shown particularly in Fig. 5. These pawls are adapted to engage within the teeth of a ratchet wheel 32, which is fixed upon the shaft. Thus it will be seen that when the gear 23 is rotated in one direction it will communicate rotation to the shaft 35 but when moved in the opposite direction it will have no effect upon the said shaft. Mounted upon the shaft 35] approximately midway between the ends thereof is a sleeve 33. At the end of said sleeve at a point approximately midway of the frame is a disc 34. Said disc is shown in Figs. 6 and 8. On one side of said disc is a series of pawls 35 which are held by spring 36 into contact with a ratchet wheel 31 upon said shaft 30. Thus when the sleeve 33 is rotated in one direction it will rotate the disc 34 and through said ratchet and pawl connection will rotate the shaft 39. The disc and sleeve may, however, rotate in the opposite direction without any effect upon the rotation of the shaft 30.

The other end of the sleeve 33 upon the shaft is formed with a pinion gear 38 thereon. Said pinion gear 33 is adapted to engage with an idle pinion 33, which is mounted upon a pin 40 on the end of a lever 4|.

Said lever 4| is pivoted at one end upon the shaft 42 upon which the gear 43 is mounted and it will be seen from Fig. 7 that the gear 39 may, through the swinging of the lever 4|, be moved to and from engagement with the gear 38 upon the shaft 30 and thus communicate rotation from the gear 33 to the gear 43 mounted upon the clock shaft 42. The lever 4| is extended upwardly at an inclination and has its upper end 44 formed with a laterally projecting pin 45 thereon. Said pin t fits within elongated slot 46 within a swinging arm 47 pivoted at 48 to the upper end of the lever arm 49, said arm being fixed upon the shaft 28. There is a tension spring 50 secured to a pin upon the lever 41 and engaged at its other end with the pin 45 on the lever 4|. The said pin 45 is thereby held resiliently in one end of the slot 45 so that when the shaft 28 is moved in the operation of the machine, as will be later noted, the arm 49 will be caused to swing and exert a push upon the pin 45 and thus raise the lever 4i and move the gear 39 out of contact with the gear 33. When, however, the lever arm 49 is moved in the opposite direction the initial motion will have no effect upon the pin until the other end of the slot 45 contacts with the pin 45 to swing the lever arm 4| and move the gear 39 into contact with the gear 38.

The shaft 42 upon which the gear 43 is mounted is the clock operated shaft. Said shaft has thereon a sleeve 5 i, which is secured to the shaft by a set screw. On one end of said sleeve is a beveled gear 52 which engages a smaller pinion 53 upon the shaft 54 of the clock.

In Fig. 6 a portion of the clock mechanism is shown. It is to be understood that this clock mechanism is not new. It is operated through a spring motor which is wound up through rotative engagement with the stem 55 and through a train of gears shown in Fig. 6 a uniform motion is communicated to the shaft 54 and through said shaft to the shaft 42 previously described. It will thus be noted that the shaft 38 may be operated through the arrangement of gears upon the shaft 42 and the idle gear 39 when the speed of the clock-operated shaft exceeds the speed of the speedometer shaft. The drive from the clock-operated shaft to the shaft 3!) and from the disc 34 to the said shaft 34], as illustrated in Fig. 8, will allow the rotation of the shaft by the speedometer connection when the speedometer operates at a speed greater than that of the clock, but when the, clock is operated at a speed greater than that of the speedometer as, for example, when the car is slowing down or stopping at an intersection, then the clock will pick up the rotation of the shaft 30 and keep it going at the uniform speed of the clock.

The rotation of the shaft 30 through either the speedometer connection or the clock connection will be indicated by means of the usual meter dial or dials.

The connections through which the rotation of the shaft 30 serves to operate the dials upon the meter will now be described, and as shaft 39 serves to operate the fare-indicating mechanism it will be referred to as the operating shaft.

Mounted upon the shaft 30, forwardly from the-clock-operated gear 38, is a six-point cam wheel'56. The rotation of the shaft 30 will carry with it this cam wheel and each time one of the cams reaches a position above the shaft it will engage with the inclined edge of a plate 51 upon the lever arm 58.

The lever 58 extends nearly the entire width of the frame of the device. It is pivoted adjacent one end upon the pin 59 mounted upon the side plate of the frame. One end of said lever is inclined downwardly and has adjacent the end a laterally extending pin 50, which when the pawl BI is in proper position will engage with a shoulder 52 thereon. The lever is extended on the opposite side of its pivot laterally and downwardly. The plate 51 is secured thereto by means of set screws 63. The lower inclined edge 5'! of said plate 51 assumes a position above the cam wheel 55 and when the meter. is running. the end of the cam plate 5'! will contact with the cams upon the wheel 56.

The lever arm 58 has its end adjacent its pivot 59 curved and directed downwardly at an angle and has an end cam face 64 thereon which engages with a cam 65' upon a lever arm 66, said lever arm being secured in a fixed position upon the shaft 23. It will be understood that when the lever arm 66 has been moved to contact with the cam face 64 of the lever 58, the pin 60 at the other end of said lever will be prevented from moving downwardly.

Lever arm 65 has at its upper end a through pin 67. On one side of the arm a roller 68 is mounted on said pin to cooperate with a cam 69 mounted upon the cam shaft 10.

Said shaft lflis mounted for rotation in a transverse plate H toward the forward side of the meter frame and in another transverse plate 72 adjacent the opposite side of said frame. It has the semaphore flag 1.3 fixed thereon at the forward side of the meter.

The cam 69 on said cam shaft is circular except for the curved recess thereon at one side. When the flag l3.is erect and the meter not operating this recess receives the roller 68 on lever 65. Said roller is held resiliently in that position by spring 15 secured at one end to the frame at 76 and at its other end to the. pin 11 on lever 66.

On the opposite side of thelever-GS the pin 61 projects through an arcuate'slot 18 in the plate ll of the frame. The pin 61 also engages within an opening 19 in a.control plate 80 on the opposite side of the frameplate H to move the same, which plate will be later'described.

Mounted upon the lever 58 toward the free swinging end thereof isa downwardly depending pawl 81. Said pawl has its upper end pivoted to the lever arm at 82. Its lower end is formed with a laterally inclined'foot 83 thereon plate. It is held against said pin by a -'leaf spring 85 fixed at one end to the pin 59'. The lower end bears against the side of the pawl 8|.

The lower end of the pawl 8| is adapted to engage with teeth 86 upon a ratchet wheel 81 rotatable upon a pin 88 mounted in the frame of the meter box. The pawl 8| is shown in Fig. 7 in raised position as would be the case where the meter is not operating. When the flag is moved downwardly to bring the device in operating position the pawl 8| will be reciprocated by the rotation of the six-point cam wheel 56 so as to periodically bring the foot 83 of the pawl into engagement with the ratchet wheel and move said wheel through a partial rotation at each engagement. It will be understood that the arm 58 will be held normally downward by a spring 89 fixed to the frame plate at 98 and engaging with the lever arm at 9|. Thus, when the cam wheel 56 is rotated it will raise the arm 58 but as soon as the cam has passed its position adjacent the arm the spring 89 will cause the arm to move downwardly to engage the ratchet wheel 86. This movement of the arm 58 will, however, be prevented as long as the latch 6| engages the pin 68 thereon.

The movement of the ratchet wheel 86 will cause the rotation of the shaft 88. Said shaft extends through the plate II of the frame and on the opposite side of said plate it has thereon a plurality of discs which are secured to said shaft in such manner that they will all rotate with the rotation of the shaft. The first ofthese discs is shown in dotted lines at 92. Said disc has thereon one laterally extending tooth 93, which has a forward face thereon adapted, when the control plate 88 is moved, to engage with a projecting finger 94 thereon and stop the rotation of the said shaft 88.

Closely adjacent the disc 92 is a ratchet dis 95. Said ratchet disc has teeth thereon which are normally adapted to engage with a tooth 96 upon a depending pawl 91. Said pawl 91 is-pivoted at 98 at its upper end and has a horizontally extending arm 99 to which is engaged a tension spring I88 secured at one end to the pin It]! in the frame and tending to hold the pawl 91 inwardly into contact with the ratchet teeth 95a of the disc.

Forwardly from. the disc 95 is a gear wheel I82. disc 95 by a space plate I83 shown in Fig. 9. The gear wheel I82 which is immediately in front of the spacer I83 is shown in Fig. 10. It is positioned to engage with an adjacent spring-operated gear I84. The gear I84 is mounted upon a stub shaft I85 in the frame, said shaft I85 extending through the frame plate II and having on the rearward side of said plate a tension spring I86, which may be seen on the righthand side of Fig. 1. This spring surrounds a hub I8'I on the shaft I85 and is held between the plate II and a flange I86 on the hub. It will be understood that one end of this spring is secured to the stationary plate II, and the other to the hub upon the shaft. In this manner when the shaft 88 is moved during the operation of the meter the gear wheel I84 will also be rotated to wind up the spring I86 upon the shaft. It will, therefore, exert a tension on the shaft I85 tending to rotate the gear I84 in the direction of the arrow. When the gear I84 has been rotated through the running of the meter for a sufficient time to wind up the spring an open place upon the gear, shown at I88, will come into engagement with the teeth of the gear I82 7 Said gear wheel is spaced from the ratchet and no further rotation of the gear I84 will take place.

The spring will, however, hold the teeth of said gear I84 against the teeth of the gear I82 so that the gear I84 will constantly tend to resist the rotation of the gear in the direction of its normal rotation, which is a clockwise rotation, as shown in Fig. 10. When the gear I82 is released by the disengagement of the pawl 96 therewith the gear I84 will immediately spin the shaft 88 back to zero position with the tooth 93 on the disc 92 in engagement with the tooth 94 on the control frame 88, as will be later noted.

On the forward end of the shaft 88 is a dial plate II8. Said dial plate is rotatable with the shaft in the direction shown by the arrow and serves to bring into registration with an opening I I I, in a shield plate II2, the proper figure indicating the fare due from the passenger in the car. On the rearward side of the dial plate 8 is a pawl II3, shown in Fig. 10. This pawl is pivoted upon a pin I I4 in the rearward side of the dial plate. The view in Fig. 10 shows the dial plate removed, the pin II4 having been out immediately adjacent the plate and Fig. 18 indicates the position which the pawl would assume in the operation of the device. As the pin H4 is mounted on the dial plate which rotates with the shaft 88, the pawl II3 is carried around by the rotation of the shaft and dial plate to engage with a ratchet wheel I|5 upon an adjacent shaft H6. The pawl H3 has a forward projection Iil which is held normally extending in approximately radial position away from the shaft 88 by means of a flat spring H8 fixed at IIEI upon the rotating dial plate. It will be seen that when the pawl H3 has been carried around by the continued rotation of the shaft 88 to the proper position said pawl will engage with the teeth on the adjacent ratchet wheel I I5.

It will 'be understood, therefore, that the assembly of discs on the adjacent shaft H6 will be given a short partial rotation each time the pawl I I1 is brought around into position to engage the teeth on the ratchet wheel I15. The number of teeth upon the Wheel 5 will be so calibrated, as to cause the rotation of the assembly of discs on the shaft ||6 one notch to each complete rotation of the disc II8 having the digits below 108 thereon. Thus when the dial plate I I8 is rotated to indicate cents then $1.08 will be brought into view on the adjacent dial plate.

The shaft H6 is mounted upon the forward side of the frame plate II and the ratchet wheel H5 is formed upon a hub I28 on said shaft said hub being connected to rotate with the assembly of toothed discs as seen in Fig. 14. Said hub is freely rotatable on the shaft. The ratchet wheel H5 is closely adjacent the control plate 88 and its teeth are adapted to be engaged by said pawl I I3 as previously noted, thus communicating intermittent rotation to said wheel and hub in a counter-clockwise direction.

Directly behind the ratchet wheel H5 and spaced slightly therefrom is a ratchet wheel shown at |2| in Fig. 9. Said ratchet wheel is secured through a space plate I22 with the said ratchet wheel H5. The ratchet wheel I2| is shown best in Fig. 9. It has teeth I23 thereon which may be engaged by a tooth I24 upon the pawl I 25. Said pawl I25 is pivotally mounted upon a pin I26 at its upper end and is held resiliently toward the ratchet wheel I2l by a tension spring I21, which is secured to a short arm I28 on said pawl. Thus the ratchet wheel I2I is prevented from clockwise rotation during its operation.

On the inner side of the ratchet wheel is a small disc I29. Said disc has a single radially extending tooth I30 thereon which is intended at the proper time to engage the shoulder I3I upon the control frame 80 (Figs. 9 and 10) to limit the rotation of the ratchet wheels I2I and On the forward end of the shaft H6 and secured to the hub I is a dial plate I32 shown best in Fig. 12. This dial plate is rotatable through the operation of the ratchet wheel just described. Centrally of the dial plate I32 is a hub I33, which has a central recess to house a tension spring I34. Said spring is secured at one end to the hub I33 and at the other end to the shaft II6. It will be seen that the spring will be placed under tension as the plate I32 is rotated on the shaft and that when the dial plate is released the spring I34 will spin the disc back to zero on the scale, the rotation being stopped by the engagement of the tooth I30 on the inner disc with the shoulder I31, as will be presently described.

It will be clear that the meter should be held in locked position with the dials indicating zero on the visible portion of the scale. This is done in my construction by the use of a control plate 80 which has been previously referred to. This plate 80 is mounted to slide on the forward side of the frame plate II. There are horizontal slots I36 and I3! therein through which the pins I38 extend. The plate is, therefore, allowed a limited sliding movement in a horizontal plane. The plate has a central opening I39 through which the shafts 83 and H6 extend. The downwardly extending tooth 94 projects into the opening and is adapted to engage the tooth 93 upon the disc 92 on said shaft 88. The shoulder I3I is formed toward one end on the lower side of said opening, said shoulder being engaged at the proper time by the tooth I30 on the inner disc I29.

There is a forwardly extending lug I40 at the lower edge of the opening I39, which while the device is in inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 10, will engage the lower end of the pawl I and hold it out of engagement with the ratchet wheel I2I. There is another forwardly extending lug I42 at the righthand end of the control plate 80 which will likewise engage with the :pawl 61 and hold the tooth 96 out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 95a. When the pawls are thus brought out of engagement with the adjacent ratchet wheels the spring tension on the said wheels will rotate both shafts 88 and H5 to bring the zero portions on the dial into view, the ratchet wheels being then stopped with the tooth 93 on one disc engaging the tooth 94 on the control plate and the other tooth I engaging the shoulder I3I on the control plate.

The control plate has at its upper end two laterally extending arms I43 and I44. These arms serve as an attachment for a plate 545. Said plate is turned downwardly and has a shield thereon which is shown best at I46 in Fig. 11. Said shield tends to obscure openings I 4'1 and I48 in the shield plate II 2 so that the figures upon the two dial plates can not be read. Upon the plate hi6 I mark two zeros, which, when the control plate is in inoperative position and meter not running, will indicate zero in both the openings. It will be understood that when the shield plate is moved to operative position as shown in 75 a sliding block I60.

Fig. 9, the plate I46 will be moved to the left of the position shown in Fig. 11, and allow the operator to view the numbers upon the dial plate. It will be understood that the dial plate I ID will normally start with the numeral 25 showing therethrough so that when the flag is rotated to bring the device into operative position the zeros on the plate I46'will disappear and a zero on the dial plate I32 will appear in the opening I41, but in the opening I48 the numeral 25 will appear. Obviously it can be arranged so that any other numeral, such as 10 or 15, could be initially presented through the opening to indicate that the fare for the trip will be at least the amount appearing in the opening when the meter is thrown into operative position.

The control plate is moved to operative or inoperative position by the rotation of the flag shaft 10. This shaft is mounted above and slightly inward from the shaft 29 previously referred to. The inner end is mounted in the plate I2. The forward end is mounted in the plate 'II and projects through a hub I49 formed on the forward side of the face plate I50 of the meter box. On the portion of the shaft projecting through the hub I49 is a crank arm I5I upon which is mounted the semaphore or flag 13 previously noted.

Mounted upon the cam shaft against the inner face of the plate I59 is a cam wheel I52. Said cam wheel is rotatable with the shaft in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 12. Said cam is prevented from rotation when the flag is moved to erect position by means of a shoulder I53 formed to engage with the forward end of a lever arm I54 pivoted at one end upon a pin I55. The end of the lever beyond the shoulder I53 has a projecting finger I56 which serves as an attachment for a pin I51 to which the tension spring I58 is engaged, said spring being secured at its upper end to a pin I59 0n the plate.

Adjacent the forward end of the lever arm I54 and adapted to contact with the finger I56 is Said block is slidable with a guide plate I6I and is held resiliently upward by a spring I62 fitting about a projection I63 upon the block I60. Said spring I62 rests at its lower end upon a stationary support I64. The block I has a projection through the face plate I50 with a knob I65 which may be depressed to move the block I60 downwardly and push the locking lever I54 downward to disengage the shoulder I53 on the disc I52. This will release the semaphore arrn so that it may be moved by the operator. It will be understood that the arm must be unlatched in this manner each time it is to be manually rotated. At the upper end of latch guide plate I6I is a finger I31 projecting laterally therefrom toward the cam I52. When the circular surface of the cam is adjacent the finger I81 the latch plate I6I cannot be depressed to move the latch arm I54. When the recessed area I52a on the cam comes into position adjacent the latch member I54 the said member will move upwardly and will finally be engaged by the shoulder I53 on the cam I52. While the cam is rotating and the larger diameter area is adjacent the finger I91 the latch plate I6I cannot be depressed but when the shoulder I53 has engaged the latch lever I54, a'flattened portion I52b will be adjacent the finger I81 and the latch plate I6I may be then depressed to unlatch the lever I54 from shoulder I53 and permit the flag to be again rotated. This assures that the flag arm cannot be started to register another fare before the mechanism described in the operation of the meter has all been properly reset by the rotation of the cam shaft back to its initial position as described.

Mounted on the shaft 18 inwardly from the cam I52 is a disc I66, which is fixed on the shaft and rotatable therewith. Said disc is circular except on one side where it has a plurality of ratchet teeth I61. Said teeth when presented downwardly will engage with the forward end I68 of a pawl I69. Said pawl is pivoted upon a pin I18 and a spring I1I engaging with a lateral projection I12 tends to hold the pawl upwardly into engagement with the ratchet teeth I61. Thus the rotation of the shaft 18 in what may be called the reverse direction is prevented by the engagement of the pawl I68 with the teeth on said disc.

On the inner side of the frame plate H is a cam 69 fixed on the shaft 18 in the manner previously described and shown in Fig. 7. The function of this cam is to engage with the roller 68 on the lever 66 to move it to the right of its position shown in Fig. 7, and by the movement of said lever to prevent interference with the operation of the lever 58, which serves to actuate the fare indicating mechanism. Furthermore, the pin 61 on the end of the lever 66, which projects through the opening 18 engages within a slotted opening indicated in dotted lines at I14 in Fig. 10. Thus the movement of the pin 61 will tend, because of its engagement in the opening I14 in the control plate 88 to move said control plate from its position shown in Fig. to its position shown in Fig. 9. The pin 61 has a sliding vertical play in the opening I14 so that the swinging movement of the pin may be accommodated.

The flag shaft may be stopped temporarily in position either erect or at 98 intervals thereafter. The holding of the shaft releasably in any one of these four positions is accomplished by a cam I15 on said shaft 18. As seen in Fig. 5, this cam has four notches I16 therein into which may engage a roller I11 upon a lever I18. Said lever is pivoted at its lower end upon a pin I19 mounted in a frame plate 12 and is held resiliently in position in one or the other of the notches I16 by a spring I8I.

The spring I81 has considerable tension and when the roller I11 falls into one of the notches I16 an extra turning effort ha to be exerted on the shaft 18 to cause one of the arms I15 to push the roller I11 and lever I18 laterally to bring the roller into the next succeeding notch.

When the meter is started with the dial indicating a minimum amount, such as 15 or 25, or any similar amount, it must be arranged so that the vehicle may run for a period without affecting the counting upon the dial. I have therefore arranged so that the lever 51, which actuates the counting mechanism, will be held against operation for a limited period after the meter has started and thus prevent the indicating of an additional amount upon the dial of the meter until the passenger has obtained a ride of the proper distance to account for the initial amount of 25. This is done by virtue of the pawl 6I shown in Fig. 7 and previously described. Said pawl engages the pin 68 upon the operating lever 58 and prevents the downward movement of the lever. The pawl 6I is mounted in a position fixed upon a shaft I83 which extends across one end of the frame of the meter. This shaft has adjacent the other end thereof a lever I84, which is extended upwardly at an angle and has a pin I85 at its upper end adapted to engage with a cam disc I86. Said cam disc is mounted upon the shaft 38 and as will be seen from Fig. l is closely adjacent the rearward wall of the meter box. The cam I86 has a lateral cam extension I86a thereon.

When shaft 38 is rotated in the operation of the meter for nearly one complete turn the pin I85 will ride up onto the cam and lift the lever I84. When the lever I84 is thus rotated in the operation of the shaft 38 the shaft I83, upon which lever I84 is mounted, will be rotated in a direction to throw the pawl 6| away from the pin 68 and allow the lever arm 58 to drop. This movement will not take place until the cam portion l86a has been rotated in a clockwise direction through approximately 188. During this movement sufficient distance will be traveled by the vehicle to use up the fare indicated by the original number on the dial. Thereafter the pawl 6I will not interfere with the movement of the lever 58 which will be reciprocated in the operation of the dial plate.

I provide upon the shaft 38 a device for moving said shaft 38 back to its initial position with the cam I 86 thereon such that the rotation of said shaft will not affect the dial until the initial 25 fare shall have been used up. This device operates at the end of each trip when the flag arm is operated. It will be desirable to start the operation of the shaft 38 with the cam arm I86a thereon directly adjacent the pin I85 onthe lever I84, as shown in Fig. 4. To do this I mount upon the shaft 38 a cam sleeve 231 (see Fig. 1) This sleeve is fixed adjustably to the shaft by set screws 238 and has one end of the sleeve formed with an inclined face terminating in a point shown at 238, on one side. On the opposite side of this sleeve away from said point 239 the curved edge terminates in a notch.

Adapted to cooperate with the cam edge of this sleeve I provide a bell crank lever 248. Said lever is pivoted at MI and has its other arm 242 formed with an opening therein to receive the curved end of a link 243. At the end of the arm 242 a tension spring 244 is connected, the other end of said spring being secured to the frame at 245. This spring tends to hold the lever 248 with its end adjacent the cam 231 into contact with said cam. I form on said lever 248 a wedge shaped lug 246, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, which engages normally within the notch on the cam edge of the sleeve 231.

The lever 248 is moved to swing the lug 245 toward or away from the cam edge of sleeve 231 by the rod or link 243. Said link is. bent forwardly from its engagement with the lever 242 and extended laterally to connect with a lug 241 upon a lever arm 248 fixed at its lower end upon shaft 28. The upper end of lever 258 has a laterally extending roller 249 which contacts with a cam 258 mounted on the shaft 18. Said cam is circular for the larger part of its diameter and is 'cut away on the remaining portion to form a will move cam 258 to swing lever 248 and through the connections just described will move the cam engaging lug 246 from contact with the sleeve 231 and allow free rotation of the shaft 39. It may be noted from Fig. 1 that both cam sleeve 23? and cam I86 are fixed on shaft 36 by set screws. It is also contemplated that the star cam 56 which operates the indicating mechanism and also mounted on shaft 39 will also be adjustable as to circumferential position so that by fixing these three cams in proper positions relative to each other on shaft 39, the distance the passenger can ride for the initial fare will be governed.

When the flag is swung around again into idle position at the end of the trip the lever 89 will move the shaft 28 and cam 259 mounted on shaft 19 will allow the lug 246 to be brought against the cam edge of sleeve 23? and swing the shaft 39 back to the original starting position. When cam 58 in Fig. 7, is set in correct position with the plate 51 on lever 58 engaging therewith, the cam I96 will be set in Fig. 4 position. After shaft 39 has revolved far enough to give the correct amount of travel for the initial fare then cam I86 will have been rotated by shaft 39 to pull pawl 6| from under pin 69 and. drop the plate on the top point of the correct cam 55. One of the cams on wheel 56 mounted on shaft 39 will pass from under plate 5'! and drop lever 58 each one-half mile of travel, so if the fare is one mile for lever 8I stays under pin 69 until one cam 56 passes under plate 51. This will assure a period, when the meter is again started, during which the meter will not operate until the cam I86 has rotated with the shaft 39 to bring the cam arm I85a under the arm I84 and raise it to release pawl 9| from beneath the pin 69 on lever 58 and thus start the indication of the fare thereafter.

An indicator is provided to indicate the number of trips taken by the vehicle upon which the meter is mounted. This trip indicator will be housed behind the face plates I59 and toward the lower portion thereof, as indicated at I89, in Figs. 9 and 14. This trip indicator is normally housed out of sight and not capable of being tampered with by the driver. In Figs. 9 and 14 the number upon the indicator is disclosed. This is accomplished by the movement of an obscuring plate so that the indicating number I89 is visable. This movement is performed through the rotation of a key I 99, as will be later described.

The indicator I89 is shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 7. There is a shaft I92 in the indicator which operates an indicating mechanism of standard construction, the details of which are not material. The shaft I92 which operates the indicating mechanism has an arm I 93 thereon, said arm having a crank pin I94 at its upper end. This pin I94 is engaged withinthe forked end of a lever I95 of bell crank formation. Said lever is pivoted at I95 and the downwardly extending arm I 9'! thereon is connected by a link I98 to the lever 49 previously described. Said lever 49 has a slot I99 therein within which the curved end 299 is engaged. It will be seen that the lever arm 49 which also operates the movement of the clock connecting gears may be moved a certain amount before the end 299 of the link engages within the end of the slot I99 and causes movement of the link and the indicator actuating mechanism. Thus each time the arm 49 is moved through the rotation of the cam shaft 28 in the setting of the indicating mechanism one movement will be communicated to the indicator shaft I92 to indicate one trip upon the trip indicator when flag 13 is turned one round.

The total amount of fares taken in by the operator of the car during the day is obtained by adding the amount shown by a small indicator at the right of the single fare indicator to an amount obtained by the number of trips multiplied by the initial fare. Thus, in Fig. 14, the total fare indicator is shown at 29I. This indicator is similar in general construction to the trip indicator. It is housed to the rear of the face plate 'II and is shown at the upper portion of Fig. 3.

The shaft 292 of the indicator has thereon a crank arm 293, which has a pin 294 at its outer end, said pin being secured at the upper end of a pull rod 295. Said pull rod has a longitudinal slot 296 in the end thereof which receives a pin 29'! at the extreme end of the operating lever 58 previously described. It will be seen that each time this lever is reciprocated through the operation of the six-point cam member 56, the pull rod 295 will be raised by a spring arm 289 on lever 58 to indicate an additional amount upon the fare indicated, Thus if a charge of 5c upon the dial is indicated each time the lever 58 is reciprocate-d this same amount will appear on the indicator 29I. As the fare was 25 before the operation began the operator will add 25 for each trip shown to get the total.

This amount will ordinarily be obscured from the forward side by the upper arm 298, upon a plate 299, shown in Fig. 11. This is the plate which also obscures, through the arm 2I9, the opening through which the number of trips is shown. The plate 299 is formed at one end of a locking plate 2I I. Said plate 2I I is secured slidably to the rearward side of the face plate by a pin 2I2 engaging through a slot opening 2I3 in said plate. A second slotted opening 2M is formed in said plate to receive a pin 2I5. The locking plate 2! I may be moved through an arm 2 I6 forked at its end to slidably receive a pin 2 IT on said locking plate. The arm 2I6 is formed upon a short stub shaft 2I8. Said shaft has a key-receiving slot in its end projecting throu h the face plate. This slot receives the key I99 previously referred to and, by means of the key, said shaft 2I8 and the arm 2I6 may be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 11, to move the arms 298 and 2H) thereon to disclose the numeral on the indicators behind the same. The movement of this locking plate will carry with it an arm 2I9 secured to the lower side of said plate by a pin 229. When this arm is moved it will tend to move a crank arm 22I upon an indicator 223. Said indicator will thus indicate each time the locking plate is moved and will indicate whether anyone has obtained a key whereby the locking plate may be moved. The indicator 223 is also shown in Fig. 14. To assure, each time the key is employed to move the locking plate 2 I I, that the said locking plate be moved through its full movement so as to actuate the indicator 223, I provide a ratchet 225 on the lower ed e of the plate 2 I I and have provided a pawl 226 to cooperate therewith. Said pawl is pivoted upon a pin 22'! and is held resiliently with its upper end extending toward the plate MI by a spring 228. This pawl will engage with the ratchet teeth 225 and prevent the release of said plate until it has been moved far enough to the left in its initial movement to disengage all of the teeth 225 with the end of the pawl 226.

I illuminate the recording dial plate by means of an electric bulb 229 set in a slot below the openings in the face plate through which the dial plate appears. This bulb is mounted within a socket 230 fixed upon a plate 23! which will be normally locked against movement in either direction by a short arm 232 on the locking plate. The plate 23! upon which the bulb is mounted can hence not be moved from its position without unlocking the machine by moving the locking plate 2! I to the left of the position shown in Fig. 11. This locking plat has connection through an opening 233 in the face plate with a cover member 234, as seen in Fig. 14. This cover plate is also secured in position by screws 235. When the screws are released, however, the cover plate 234 can not be removed to obtain access to the light without unlocking the machine through the movement of the plate 2 I l. Thus the driver can not remove th light so that the fare will not be visible unless he has a key enabling him to rotate the shaft M8 and move the locking plate 2| I.

In order that an observer may tell when the car is occupied and the meter working properly, I arrange a display box upon the top of the car (not shown) and separate lights therein are controlled through conductors 255a and 256a connected to posts 251 and 2553 upon switch arms 259 and 265, respectively, in the meter box as seen in Fig. 1.

The switch 259 controlling one of the display light may be best seen in Fig. 1. The arm 259 is mounted upon a block 252 of insulating material secured upon one side of a frame plate 263. This will be seen in Fig. 3. The switch 259 is similar in construction to the adjacent switch 260, which is seen in Fig. 6, and comprises the upper conducting member 259, which is curved downwardly from its connection with the block 262 and is engaged on its upper side by a block of insulating material 266 on one side of a bell crank leVer 251 pivoted to a pin 2B8, projecting laterally from the frame member 263 previously noted. The bell crank lever 261 has a laterally extending arm 2'59, which is curved downwardly to contact with the cam 21!].

The cam 21!! is mounted upon the shaft 10 and depressing the arm 261 and bringing th rearward end of the conducting arm 259 into contact with the terminal 21l of the other arm of the switch, thus closing the switch at that point to turn on a display light and thus indicate that the flag has been turned a sufiicient distance to start the running of the meter.

The wire 25611 is connected within the meter box to one end of the arm 260, previously noted. This arm is also connected upon a block of insulating material 252 secured to the side of the frame member 263. The construction of this switch is the same as the construction of the switch including the arm 259 and is represented in Fig. 6 by the same numbers but having the prime letter a thereon. In this switch, however, the arm 269a of the switch contacts with a different cam member 214 mounted upon the shaft 10 and having a single raised portion 215 thereon. Thus the rotation of the shaft 10 will bring the raised portion 215 against the arm 269a of the bell crank lever to close the contacts between the arms 260 and 212a only when the shaft 10 has been rotated through 180 with the fla ding downwardly, which is the full running position thereof. The circuit will thus be closed through the switch including the arm 260 to ac-- tuate another display light and thus show that the meter is in full running position, and the recording mechanism properly working, with the brake arm or flexible finger 211 released from contact with the wheel 218 of the clock.

The contact of the finger 211 with the wheel 218 acts as a brake to stop the running of the clock and by this means the clock is prevented from operating except when the flag arm has been rotated to bring the indicating mechanism of the clock into full working position. The clock will not operate when the flag arm is turned to only but will be released before operation when the flag arm has been moved and points directly downwardly.

The operation of the device will be understood from the description already given. When the meter is in locked position with the flag erect there will be no running of the mechanism and the parts will all be in neutral position; When a passenger enters the car the driver will depress the knob I65 to release the latching lever I54 and the flag will then be rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 14, for example. This rotation of the flag arm will rotate the shaft Ill and as the shaft 10 is rotated the different parts of the mechanism will be thrown into operative position in the desired sequence.

The movement of cam shaft 10 will swing the arm 248 through the contact of the cam 250 on said shaft with the roller 249 on said arm. When the arm is moved laterally by contact with the cam the shaft 28 will be partially rotated to swing the arm 21 thereon and thus allow the spring 24 to swing the arm 22 and bring the gear 20 into engagement with the gear 23 and thus start the rotation of the indicating mechanism. Thus the shaft 30 will be brought into operation through the drive shaft 6 on the first movement of the flag arm.

The movement of the shaft 28 in the manner described will also swing the arm 49 and through the link 41 will move the lever 44 and bring the clock into running engagement with the shaft 30. This movement is delayed, as previously noted, by the loose engagement of the pin 45 in the slot 46 of the lever 41. The clock will, therefore, be brought into operative connection with the shaft 35 only after the flag has been swung to a slightly greater distance than is necessary to run the meter through the drive shaft 6.

This operation of the shaft 30 will rotate the six-point cam member 56 to operate the indicating mechanism through engagement of said cam with plate 51 on lever 58. Each of the six cam members upon the cam 56 will cause the arm 58 to be moved up and then dropped as the cam passes the lever, or more accurately, the plate 51 upon the lever, and the pawl 8| will thus be reciprocated to rotate the ratchet wheel 81. It will be noted that the end of the lever 58 bearing the pawl 8| and pin 60 is provided with an outwardly extending leaf spring 281! which is adapted to engage a stop member 28! mounted upon the interior of the meter frame. This leaf spring limits the outward travel of the lever 58 and also resiliently holds the pin 60 in engagement with the shoulder 62 of the pawl 6| when such pawl is in position to restrain the lever 58 from movement toward cam member 56 to effect actuation in the manner above described.

As previously noted, when the indicating dial is set to an initial fare, such as 25, the pawl 8i will not be moved to operate the ratchet wheel it"! for a short period due to the engagement of re pawl 6i beneath the pin 66 on the lever 58. This pawl 6! will, however, be moved out of engagement with the pin 56 as soon as the shaft 30 has been rotated sufficiently to bring the bevel cam surface 33a beneath the end of the lever 88d and thus rotate the shaft H33 and move the pawl from beneath said pin 68. When the pawl has been thus swung out of engagement the arm 58 will drop and will be thereafter engaged by the cam wheel 53 and reciprocated.

The reciprocation of the lever 58 and the rotation thereby of the ratchet wheel 81 will cause the rotation of the shaft 38 upon which the ratchet wheel 6'! is fixed. The rotation of this shaft will take with it the ratchet wheel 95 and the dial plate carried thereby. The pawl I IS on the rearward side of the dial plate H0 will in its rotation engage a tooth I IS on the adjacent shaft H6 and cause a rotation of the said shaft sulficiently to bring another number on the dial plate carried thereby within the opening I41 and show that another dollar has been charged on the dial against the occupant of the car.

There are a number of safety provisions in connection with the meter mechanism which might be again noted. With reference to Figs. 9 and 10, for example, the disc I65 upon the flag shaft it may not be rotated in a righthand direction to start the running of the meter and then be rotated back to its original position without completing the entire circle. This is because of the engagement with the ratchet teeth I61 on said disc by the pawl I58. The driver of the car can not thus prevent the indicating of a full trip after the flag arm has been moved to initiate the running of the meter mechanism. Further, it is impossible for the operator to obtain access to the light 229 which illuminates the dial without the use of a key to rotate the shaft 2|8, as seen in Fig. 12. Further, it is necessary to have a key to unlock the mechanism to obtain a view of either of the indicators 2!)! or Hi9. These two indicators will be obscured by the plates 208 and 2H] and only can be viewed by the use of the key. The driver of the car can not tamper with the device due to the fact that it is completely enclosed and housed within the glove compartment of the car.

It will be noted that I have provided a simple type of meter compactly arranged to be housed within the glove compartment of the car and so sealed about that no tampering with the mechanism of the meter will be possible without the same being disclosed by means during the operation of the car and upon the different indicators connected with the meter which are operated in order to obtain access to the interior of the housing.

The advantages of this construction will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a taximeter, a cam shaft including cam means thereon, an operating shaft, means for driving said shaft, a releasable connection between said means and said shaft, a semaphore flag on said cam shaft, a cam sleeve on said operating shaft, a lever pivoted to move toward and away from said cam sleeve, a lug on said lever adapted to engage and rotate said cam sleeve and operating shaft through a partial rotation to a predetermined position, and means responsive to the rotation of said cam shaft and cam means through the movement of said flag to disconnect said driving connection and to operate the said lever.

2. In a taximeter flag locking mechanism, a semaphore flag mounted to rotate about an axis, a cam movable with said flag, a stop shoulder on said earn, a latch arm to engage said shoulder and stop the rotation of the fiag when said semaphore flag is in erect non-operating position, means to depress said latch arm and release the flag and cam for rotational movement, and means on said depressing means to engage said cam and prevent releasing movement of said depressing means until said shoulder has engaged said latch arm.

3. In a taximeter flag locking mechanism, a

emaphor-e flag mounted to rotate about an axis,

a cam movable with said flag, a stop shoulder on said cam, a latch arm to engage said shoulder and stop the rotation of the flag when said semaphore flag is in erect non-operating position, means to depress said latch arm and release the fiag and cam for rotational movement, a cut away portion on the periphery of said cam ad J'acent said shoulder, and means on said depressing means normally engaging the circular periphery of said cam to prevent downward movement of said depressing means, said depressing means being free to move downwardly when said cutaway portion comes adjacent thereto.

4. In a taximeter, an indicator shaft, a fare indicating dial thereon, a ratchet wheel on said shaft, a pivoted lever, means normally urging the lever downwardly, a pawl on said lever positioned to engage said wheel, an operatin shaft, a cam thereon positioned to engage and intermittently elevate said lever when said operating shaft is rotated, whereby said lever is reciprocated, means to rotate said operating shaft, and means to hold said lever from engagement with said earn, including an upstanding pawl, an auxiliary shaft to which said pawl is fixed, an auxiliary lever on said auxiliary shaft, and means on said operating shaft to move said auxiliary lever and shaft to move said pawl, and release said holding means.

5. In a taximeter, an indicator shaft, a fare indicating dial thereon, a ratchet wheel on said shaft, 2. pivoted lever, means normally urging the lever in one direction, a pawl on said lever positioned to engage said wheel, an operating shaft, means operable by said shaft to normally engage and intermittently move said lever in the opposite direction whereby said lever is reciprocated during rotation of said shaft, a pawl to hold said lever in inoperative position, an auxiliary shaft to which said pawl is fixed, a cam on said operating shaft, a cam engaging lever on said auxiliary shaft and positioned to be engaged by said cam to move said auxiliary shaft and said pawl to thus release said pivoted lever.

HENRY W. WHITE 

